District of Death: Semifinal Standouts

<p>Yesterday, I made the trip over to Olympia High School for the class 7A district 3 semifinal. All four teams who made the semifinal were ranked Top 10 in the state for class 7A. These were some of the players who stood out:</p> <p>Dr. Phillips 52</p> <p>Apopka 44</p> <p><strong>C [player_tooltip player_id="814902" first="Ernest" last="Udeh"] 6-10 Dr. Phillips (2022)</strong></p> <p>For the second year in a row [player_tooltip player_id="814902" first="Ernest" last="Udeh"] has been a major presence in the district tournament. The 6-10 Center covers up a lot of defensive mistakes as the last line of defense and allows Dr. Phillips to play a lot more aggressive defensively on the perimeter. While it is rare that Udeh will lead Dr. Phillips in scoring, his Tyson Chandler like presence on the floor has been what separates his team from the other top teams in the area. In the first half the big man struggled a little bit but when his team was down by a point in the beginning of the fourth quarter he contributed to a 9-0 run that helped his team hold onto the victory with a couple of big time dunks. On the game the star junior scored 13 points including five dunks, ripped down double digit rebounds while blocking and altering several shots. It must feel like Udeh has been playing in this district for 10 years to opposing coaches.</p> <p><strong>PG [player_tooltip player_id="546239" first="Denzel" last="Aberdeen"] 6-4 Dr. Phillips (2022) </strong></p> <p>Of the handful of games I have been able to attend and stream online Aberdeen has connected on multiple 3-pointers, and yesterday was no different. If the point guard has his feet set, or is in rhythm the ball is going to go through the hoop guarded or unguarded. On the night Aberdeen sank five 3-pointers and found success driving to his right on a couple occasions to finish with a game-high 23 points.</p> <p>…..6-6 SG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="829411" first="Riley" last="Kugel"] (2023)</strong> started the game off hot scoring eight points mostly on attacks to the basket in the first quarter.</p> <p><strong>PG [player_tooltip player_id="714918" first="John" last="Latimer III"] 6-1 Apopka (2021)</strong></p> <p>For the second game in a row [player_tooltip player_id="714918" first="John" last="Latimer III"] came out of halftime like he was shot out of a cannon. The senior leader was like most games face guarded defensively, trapped, double teamed but still managed to score 15 points in the second half with eight coming in the third quarter to finish with a team high 22 points. The problem was Apopka struggled to find offense from other outlets. Latimer III finishes his career after scoring over 1,000 points as a four-year starter helping his team to a record of 73- 31.</p> <p>Olympia 70</p> <p>West Orange 51</p> <p><strong>PG Edgerrin James Jr. 6-1 Olympia (2023)</strong></p> <p>Of the handful of times I’ve seen Olympia play this year James game against West Orange Wednesday was his strongest performance. The young point guard scored from all three levels but was at his best when he attacked the basket. n transition and on drives to the basket he does a great job of using the rim to shield off defenders finishing left and is able to score often from the mid range. On the game “Jizzle” finished with 23 points to go along with five assists and 3 steals. The 2023 Guard is certainly one for college coaches to have on their radar.</p> <p>-6-3 PG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1069191" first="Jacari" last="White"] (2021)</strong> had another standout performance scoring 18 points to help lead the Titans knocking down three 3-pointers and finding his way to the free throw line often.</p> <p>-6-5 G/F <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="818881" first="Tyeree" last="Bryan"] (2021)</strong> had very little breathing room all game long as West Orange seemed to make him the number one priority defensively. He still managed to leave his imprint on the game however scoring 15 points and playing solid defense.</p> <p><strong>F [player_tooltip player_id="1069620" first="Marcus" last="Allen"] 6-6 West Orange (2021)</strong></p> <p>With Olympia minimizing West Orange’s top scoring threats, Allen finished his high school career leading the team in scoring with 19 points Wednesday. The lengthy wing scored inside often using pump fakes to get the athletic Olympia defenders in the air. Despite having a lanky build the forward has no problem mixing it up in the post, and can also get to the basket and knock down the 3 if not respected.</p> <p>…. 6-6 F <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="953460" first="Mike" last="McCalister"] (2021) </strong>finished the game with 13 points and scored his 1,000^th point in the prior game verses Lake Brantley. It was far from his best performance but he has at least four more years of college basketball ahead of him at Division II Embry Riddle.</p>